The Awakened: Blessings in Disguise (Part One)

This is the first post in a series that gives rules for playing characters whose souls are part angel, the Awakened. This one lays part of the groundwork, and the next posts will elaborate on the concept with more details on the types of angels, as well as feats and talents that further define the Awakened and their supernatural powers.
   All text in this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2019 by Steve Miller.

THE AWAKENED: BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE

By Steve Miller

The Awakened is a mortal being who carries within them a literal spark of the Divine.
   The devestation suffered among the Heavenly Host was severe, as the forces loyal to God did battle with those who had joined Satan in rebellion. Hundreds of angels fell in battle, but since immortal beings cannot truly die, the physical form of a slain angel shattered and its spiritual essense dispersed into the mortal realm where fragments of angelic essense merged with the souls the beings that existed there.
   Souls so infused with angelic essense are mostly like any others: They go through many, many lives, some of which are unremarkable except in small ways, others which change the course of history or reshape the way humans perceive the world and other beings around them, but that part of them which originated in Heaven remains dormant.
   But then, through chance or Divine Providence, an event shocks the slumbering spark into wakefulness... and the mortal being finds him- or herself able to call upon supernatural abilities usually reserved only for the servants of gods. How powerful the mortal becomes, and whether these gifts become a blessing or a curse to the world is entirely up to the individual... because whether it was Fate or Grand Design that brought the hidden to the fore, mortals still possess the great gift of Free Will. Nonetheless, once Awakened, the being's life will be changed, because others will be drawn to the power.

BECOMING AWAKENED
Most people live their whole lives with the angelic part of their soul remaining dormant. There are only three ways it becomes activated:
   * Fail a saving throw while wearing the Angel's Face and Left Hand of God
   * Be reduced to -5 or fewer hit points
   * Be subjected to mind-effecting magic or mind-effecting spell-like effect from an Outsider
   (With the GM's permission, any of these events can have taken place before play starts and be part of the character's backstory.)

   Once Awakened, the player rolls randomly on the following table to see what type of angelic remnant the character now gains power from. This dictates the benefit gained.

AWAKENED
1d10    Angelic Remnant in Character's Soul
1          Astral Deva: +1 magical bonus to all melee attack and damage rolls.
2          Cherub: All Knowledge skills become permanent class skills.
            If Cherub is rolled  twice, the character gains the Educated feat
            as a bonus.)
3          Planetar: Gain detect deceit as a spell-like ability. It may be used
            a number of times per day equal to the character's Wisdom bonus.
4          Potestatim: Gain cure light wounds and cause light wounds as
            spell-like abilities, with the caster effectiveness equal to the
            character's level.
5          Seraphim: Gain protection from evil as a spell-like ability, with the
            caster effectiveness equal to the character's level. It may be used a
            number of times per day equal to the character's Wisdom bonus.
6          Solar: Gain a +1 magical bonus to all ranged attack and damage
            rolls.
7         Thronas: Gain a +2 bonus to all Bluff and Sense Motive skill checks.
8         Virtues: All Perform skills become permanent class skills.
           If Virtues is rolled twice, the character gains the Creative feat
           as a bonus, as well as a +2 bonus to all Bluff skill checks.
9         Zashmahls: All Craft skills become permanent class skills.
           If Zashmahls is rolled twice, the character gains the Creative feat
           as a bonus.
10       Roll two more times on this table, ignoring and rerolling results of 10.
           The character's soul contains the remnants of two angels, and the
           character gains both benefits. Unless otherwise is noted, if the same
           result is rolled twice, the indicated bonus is doubled.

There's more in Part Two of this post series. Click here!
  
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